Sauteed Dandelion Greens with Cabbage and Onion

Even though I grew up in the North, we ate Southern food. I grew up eating fried cabbage with bacon grease, salt, and pepper.  But as I grew older and didn't have a regular supply of bacon grease on hand, I searched for alternate healthier options to cook my favorite greens. 

A month or so ago a friend and I went to Dearborn, Michigan for the weekend.  While there I tried some Mediterranean food.  Dandelion greens were in the showcase for purchase. When we got back to the hotel I took my first bite.  They were delicious and surprisingly not bitter. I need to learn how to cook these greens!

When I got back home I tried to cook them and failed miserably. The dandelion greens were extremely bitter. Surely there is a secret? I asked a friend what her mother would do to eliminate some of the bitterness. I've had this dish three times in the last two weeks. I am going to share with you what I discovered.

I used  Victoria Taylor's Moroccan spice blend.  I use this in a lot of dishes, especially on baked chicken and vegetables or in fried coucous salad. But you can use whatever spices you prefer on your greens.  

Ingredients:

1\2 head of cabbage, cut into 1 inch pieces
1 medium onion, chopped
2 TSP Victoria Moroccan Spice Blend or to taste, I am very generous with this 
salt\pepper to taste
1 Knorr bouillon chicken cube 
1\4 tsp sugar
2-3 TBS olive oil
2 TBS Ghee, clarified butter or regular, I like the taste of butter and oil together
2 bunches of dandelion greens, washed and cut into 1 inch pieces

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.  Place the dandelion greens in the water and boil until tender. About 7-10 minutes. Boiling the greens helps to take out the majority of the bitterness. I usually cook two bunches at a time. Once they are done cooking drain in a colander.  Squeeze out the excess water with a spoon by pressing the greens against the side of the colander. 

On medium heat add the oil and butter to a large non stick pan.  Once the oil is hot add the onion. Saute until translucent.  Then add the cabbage.  At this point add the salt, pepper,  Moroccan spice blend ,and bouillon cube.  Cook until tender.  

Move the cabbage and onion mixture to one side of the pan and add the dandelion greens to the other. 

Sprinkle with a little salt and the sugar. Saute for about 5 minutes and then mix everything together in the pan.

Serve immediately.  I like to eat this with beans and cornbread.  If you cannot find the Moroccan Spice blend that I used then use your favorite.  There is no right way or wrong way for this recipe.  You are the chef, experiment. 

What it really means to be a redneck

Today, I learned something new while hanging out with the DAR ladies.  And you thought that they were stuffy old white women...but I learned the origin of the term redneck. I always thought that it meant that those men who worked out in the fields for so long that they had a permanent red neck.  It didn't come from where you think it did. 

Jeff Foxworthy has coined the phrase, "You know you're a redneck if..." and then you fill in the blank. When one thinks about a redneck you imagine an uneducated southerner riding around in a truck with the rebel flag in the back window who is rough and rowdy.

The term redneck, however, goes much deeper than America's Southern roots and across the pond. The term didn't originate in the South like many believe. It all started in Scotland. In the early 1600's Scotland was divided by the Highlands and the Lowlands. The Lowland Scots were primarily Presbyterian and the Highlanders were Catholic. King Charles I was determined to bring all of the churches in Scotland and England under his rule and there be one religion, the Church of England. His decree required all Scots to sign a covenant pledging to the state religion. Of course, many refused and were basically signing their death warrant. The "rebels" were made examples of with public hangings. The dissenters were labeled "Covenanters" and the true ones signed in their own blood, and wore blood-red pieces of cloth around their necks as a distinctive insignia. Thus redneck was a name bestowed upon the Presbyterians and their descendants. Many of the non-signers fled Scotland for Ulster, Ireland and eventually to America. 

So, whenever you hear the word redneck think again about the origin and what the Scots went through to be called a name that we have used in a derogatory connotation. I am proud to be a redneck because I am Southern and have roots across the pond too! Click on the link above (redneck in red) and watch an episode of the program called Americas Secret Slang. It was very interesting. 

Source: Our Redneck Roots by Donald D. Erwin
Painting by Joseph Mason Reeves

My Southern Side and Elizabeth LaPrelle

I am Southern even though I live in the north. We moved away from Tennessee for the last time in early 70's.  Even though I lived a short time in the state of my birth it calls me from time to time.  It must be in my DNA somewhere.  Movies like Song Catcher and O Brother where are thou? stir up my southern side and tries to entice me to move back "home". I think about it often, very often.  But I would miss my brother and sister and I did when I tried to break away at the turn of the century. And yet it still calls me from the distance. 

Lately, I have been listening to old Southern ballads, only to find that they are really English ballads. I have the CD Song Catcher and have memorized nearly all of the songs. Two of my favorites from the CD are Pretty Saro sung by Iris DeMent and All my tears sung by Julie Miller. Which leads me to a singer by the name of Elizabeth LaPrelle.  She sings in the old Southern style that I love.  I discovered her on Youtube and have listened to her belt out ballads that came from the British Isles many, many years ago.  If you like country music then you will probably like this singer.